


Old Friends and Home Truths

by theskipper



Series: Andie/Blake ficlets [4]
Category: Step Up (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 13:12:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8625757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theskipper/pseuds/theskipper
Summary: Andie and Chase talk.





	

“So, you and Blake?”

Andie raised an eyebrow and took a drink of beer. The bar they’d ended up at was pretty low key, but it was walking distance from her MSA provided residence which meant it became her default haunt when she needed a break.

“C’mon, Andie.”

“There’s no ‘me and Blake’,” she said and plunked her beer down on the table, tracing a finger up and down the seam of the bottle’s label. “And you know this is weird that you’re so interested, right? It’s not normal, Chase.”

Chase shrugged and that flashed that devilish smile that used to make her heart stutter. Now, it just made her exasperated more than anything. “He’s my brother, you’re one of my oldest friends –“

“I’m your ex-girlfriend.”

“-who happens to be my gorgeous and talented ex-girlfriend-“

“Better.”

“-so, naturally, I want what is best for you both.”

“God, you are so full of bullshit, Chase.” Andie picked up her beer and took another drink. She cast her eyes around the room, hoping to find some sort of distraction to take Chase’s attention away from this idea he’d gotten in his head. “And why are you so sure there’s some mythical ‘me and Blake’ scenario anyway?”

“You’re playing me, right?”

“No?”

“Hear me out. Obviously you don’t see it, or you are so far in denial you don’t want to see it, but Andie, the two of you? It’s electric. Just standing in the same room with you two feels like being out in a storm right before the lightning hits.”

Andie swept her eyes over Chase’s face looking for any of the normal tells that meant he was shitting her, but he was so damned earnest it made her uncomfortable. She brushed her hair out of her face. “Whatever,” she muttered, unable to come up with anything better. “We’ve always gotten on each other’s nerves, you know that.”

“You do have a history,” Chase agreed.

“I mean, obviously, he’s been a lot better since I came back to MSA. Well, most of the time,” she said, thinking of the whole Pritchard situation.

“He did reach out to you and offer you a job.”

“None of that means anything beyond the fact that Blake is a decent guy, or at least became one once the giant stick was removed from his ass.”

“And just who removed the proverbial stick?” Chase asked.

“We did. The whole crew.”

“That’s not quite how I remember it.”

Andie leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “Well whether you remember it that way, or not, that’s how it went down.”

Chase’s eyes softened. “Andie,” he said quietly. “Why is it so hard to believe that there’s a good guy out there who is completely into you and the two of you together are electric?”

Andie shrugged and looked around, focusing on anything but Chase. She sensed him lean forward, his arm outstretched across the table as he rested a palm on her forearm. She loosened her arms and let him gently pry one of her hands away to fold it in his.

“I love you, Andie. I’ve loved you for years. So trust me when I tell you this. You are an amazing woman, and you deserve someone who recognizes that and treats you accordingly.”

“Stop it,” Andie said without any real heat to her words. “I don’t know what to do with you when you get all serious and intense like this.”

Chase chuckled and leaned back in his seat, withdrawing his hand from Andie’s. “Sex? We were always really good with that.”

“Gross. You’re like my brother.”

“A-ha!” Chase shouted and pointed across the table at her. “I knew it!”

“What a-ha? There’s no a-ha.”

“You think of me like your brother, which for the record is a weird way to think of your devilishly handsome ex-boyfriend, because you want to bang my brother which makes you like my sister in law.”

Andie stared at him and didn’t say a word.

“What?” Chase asked self-consciously after several minutes of silence.

“Do you even hear yourself? Listen. I like Blake, yes. I’m grateful to him for helping me out with a good job when I really needed one. And, okay, I can admit that as I’ve gotten to know him better, he is kind of funny in a really dry sort of way and he does look good in a tux. BUT,” she said cutting Chase off at the pass, “he’s my boss. And my ex-boyfriend’s older brother. And my former teacher. Don’t you get how awkward that would make any potential relationship?”

“Number 1? I’m not a cock-block, so don’t throw me onto your list of bullshit reasons to stay away from Blake. Sure we dated for a few years, but be totally honest here, were you ever in love with me?”

Andie sighed. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Right, and that goes both ways. So it’s a non-issue. So that leads us to number 2. He’s not your teacher any more. You guys are both legal, consenting adults in the state of Maryland and that is what matters.”

“Even if you get rid of all of that,” she said with a wave of the hand, “you’re still left with the fact that he’s my boss.”

“How closely did you read your contract?”

“Excuse me?”

“How closely did you read your contract?” he repeated. “Specifically the part about the Artist-In-Residence endowment.”

Andie narrowed her eyes. “What are you getting at, Chase?”

“Did you know the MSA Artist-In-Residence position is funded by the Collins Endowment for the Arts?” He leaned forward with a grin forming on his face. “And do you know who runs the Collins Endowment for the Arts?”

“Uh yeah, your family?”

“My grandmother. So if you want to get technical about it, your contract is actually with the Collins Endowment overseen by Amber Collins and not MSA.”

“But I work at MSA which is run by Blake. And I report to Blake.”

Chase shrugged and took a swig of his beer. “I’m just saying that technically there’s wiggle room. You know what I do find interesting, though?”

“Probably not.”

He shot her an unimpressed look. “Your list of why it won’t work. You list, me, which I’m flattered, honestly, but it’s a crock of shit. There’s your job at MSA, the whole thing about him being your teacher years, literally years, ago. But for all these obstacles you threw up on the board, you know what’s not on the list?”

“Enlighten me.”

“That you don’t have feelings for him,” Chase said. “See, that’s very telling, and you know why?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“I am, but because I love you and want you to be happy so remember that when you and Blake are going to name a godfather for your first rug rat. The easiest way to shut down any you and Blake talk would be to deny feelings exist. I mean if there aren’t any, then these supposed obstacles don’t matter. But, you never mention that. You never deny having feelings for him.”

“That’s your big ta-da observation? I’ve never denied having feelings for Blake so therefore I have feelings for Blake? Get real, Chase. I’ve never denied having feelings for the bartender, does that mean I want to bang him too?” She swept her arm out and indicated the 70 year old man currently stocking the cooler under the bar with more Budweiser.

Blake eyed up the bartender. “That’s because crusty over there isn’t exactly your type.”

“Oh my god, keep your voice down or you’ll get us kicked out.” Andie reached over and thumped him on the knuckles.

“You were the one who brought him into this.”

“And I’m really regretting that now,” Andie said. “Can we just drop this topic?”

“Finally! I’m tired of talking about you hypothetically banging my brother. I want to talk about me. But before we do that, we’re going to need more beer. Let me go hit up my new best friend, Crusty.”

Andie laughed as Chase slid off his stool and walked over to the bar. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Blake, everything was still a complicated mess in her heart, but talking to Chase had helped. Old friends served up the best home truths.

**Author's Note:**

> Chase and Blake's grandmother is a total head canon reference to another movie. Kudos to you if you get it! ;)


End file.
